performance bonuses for senior executives by about a year， slightly helping reduce”short-termism. “ In its latest survey of CEO pay The Wall street Journal finds that”a substantial part“of executive pay is now tied to performance.
Much more could be done to encourage ”long-termism， such as changes in the tax code
and quicker disclosure of stock acquisitions. In France， shareholders who hold onto a company
investment for at least two years can sometimes can more voting rights in a company.
Within companies， the right compensation design can provide incentives for executives to
think beyond their own time at the company and on behalf of all stakeholders， Britain’s new rule is a reminder to bankers that society has an interest in their performance not just for the short term but for the long term.
21. According to Paragraph 1， one motive in imposing the new rule is the
A. enhance bankers‘ sense of responsibility
B help corporations achieve larger profits
C. build a new system of financial regulation
D. guarantee the bonuses of top executives
22. Alfred Marshall is quoted to indicate
A. the conditions for generating quick profits
B. governments impatience in decision-making
C. the solid structure of publicly traded companies
D. “short-termism” in economic activities
23. It is argued that the influence of transient investment on public companies can be
A. indited B. adverse C. minimal D temporary
24. The US and France examples and used to illustrate
A. the obstacles to preventing “short-termism.
B. the significance or long term thinking.
C. the approaches to promoting long-termism.
D. the prevalence of short-term thinking.
25. Which of the following would be the best title for the text
A. Failure of Quarterly Capitalism
B. Patience as a Corporate Virtue
C. Decisiveness Required of Top Executives
D. Frustration of Risk-taking Bankers
2020年考研英语（一）真题及答案解析：
Text 2
Grade inflation-the gradual increase in average GPAs （grade-point averages） over the past
few decades-is often considered a product of a consumer era in higher education， in which
students are treated like customers to be pleased. But another， related force -a policy often buried deep in course catalogs called grade forgiveness”- is helping raise GPAs.
Grade forgiveness allows students to retake a course in which they received a low grade， and
the most recent grade or the highest grade is the only one that counts in calculating a student’s
overall GPA.
The use of this little-known practice has accelerated in recent years， as colleges continue to
do their utmost to keep students in school （and paying tuition） and improve their gradation rates.
When this practice fir started decades ago， it was usually limited to freshmen， to give them a
second chance to take a class in their first year if they struggled in their transition to college-level
courses. But now most colleges， save for many selective campuses， allow all undergraduates， and
even graduate students， to get their low grades forgiven.
College officials tend to emphasize that the goal of grade forgiveness is less about the grade
itself and more about encouraging students to retake courses critical to their degree program and
gradation without incurring a big penalty. “Untimely. ”said Jack Mine， Ohio State University‘s
registrar. “we see students achieve more success because they retake a course and do better in
subsequent contents or master the content that allows them to graduate on time.
That said， there is a way in which grade forgiveness satisfies colleges own needs as well. For
public institutions state finds are sometimes tied partly to their success on metrics such as
graduation rates and student retention so better grades can， by boosting figures like those， mean
more money. And anything that raises GPAs will likely make students who， at the end of the day
are paying the bill-feel they’ve gotten a better value for their tuition dollars， which is another big
concern for colleges.
Indeed grade forgiveness is just another way that universities are responding to consumers’
expectations for higher education. Since students and parents expect a college degree to lead to a job， it is in the best interest of a school to tum out gradates who are as qualified as possible-or
at least appear to be. On this， students‘ and colleges’ incentives seem to be aligned.
26. What is commonly regarded as the cause of grade inflation？
A. The change of course catalogs.
B. Students indifference to GPAS.
C Colleges neglect of GPAS.
D. The influence of consumer culture.
27. What was the original purpose of grade forgiveness
A. To help freshmen adapt to college learning.
B. To maintain colleges graduation rates.
C. To prepare graduates for a challenging future.
D. To increase universities’ income from tuition.
28. According to Paragraph 5. grade forgiveness enables colleges
A. obtain more financial support.
B. boost their student enrollments.
C. improve their teaching quality.
D. meet local governments’ needs.
29. What does the phrase “to be aligned” （line 5. Para. 6） most probably mean？
A. To counterbalance each other
B. To complement each other.
C. To be identical with each other
D. To be contradictory to each other.
30. The author examines the practice of grade forgiveness by
A assessing its feasibility
B.analyzing the causes behind it.
C. comparing different views on it.
D. listing its long-run effects
2020年考研英语（一）真题及答案解析：
Text 3
This year marks exactly two centuries since the publication of Frankenstein， or. The Modem
Prometheus by Mary Shelley. Even before the invention of the electric light bulb， the author
produced a remarkable work of speculative fiction that would foreshadow many chical questions
to be raised by technologies yet to come.
Today the rapid growth of artificial intelligence （An） raises fundamental questions： ”What is
intelligence， identity， or consciousness？ what makes humans humans？
What is being called artificial general intelligence， machines that would imitate the way
humans think continues to evade scientists. Yet humans remain fascinated by the idea of robots
that would look， move， and respond like humans， similar to those recently depicted on popular
sci-fi Tv series such as“Westworld and”Humans“。
Just how people think is still far too complex to be understood let alone reproduced， says
David Eagleman， a Stanford University neuroscientist， ”We are just in a situation where there are
no good theories explaining what consciousness actually is and how you could ever build a machine to get there.”
But that doesn’t mean crucial ethical issues involving Al aren‘t at hand. The coming use of
autonomous vehicles. for example poses thorny ethical questions. Human drivers sometime
make split-second decisions. Their reactions may be a complex combination of instant reflexes.
input from past driving experiences， and what their eyes and ears tell them in that moment. AI
“vision”today is not nearly as sophisticated as that of humans. And to anticipate every imaginable driving situation is a difficult programming problem.
Whenever decisions are based on masses of data. “you quickly get into a lot of ethical
questions， ”notes Tan Kiat How， chief executive of a Singapore-based agency that is helping the
government develop a voluntary code for the ethical use of Al. Along with Singapore， other
governments and mega-corporations are beginning to establish their own guidelines. Britain is
setting up a data ethics center. India released its Al ethics strategy this spring.
On June 7 Google pledged not to“design or deploy Ar” that would cause“overall harm， ”or
to develop Al-directed weapons or use Al for surveillance that would violate international norms.
It also pledged not to deploy AI whose use would violate international laws or human rights.
While the statement is vague， it represents one starting point， So does the idea that decisions made by Al systems should be explainable， transparent. and fair.
